About

Friends of Mountain Way Common is a group of involved neighbors who are working together and with Livable Buckhead, North Buckhead Civic Association, Park Pride and the Georgia Department of Transportation to create a public greenspace along Little Nancy Creek.

What's in a Name?

So why call this greenspace a Common? It is Mountain Way Park by another name, a name we hope will make the project more palatable to the Georgia Department of Transportation. We also want to hearken back to an older way of thinking about a community space that can be shared, used and enjoyed by all while respecting the fact that the land is owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Com-mon: (adj, noun) Traditionally defined as the elements of the environment—forest, trees, atmosphere, rivers, etc.—that are shared, used and enjoyed by all.

Livable Buckhead Greenspace Initiative

Friends of Mountain Way Common are joining with Livable Buckhead to develop this North Buckhead greenspace to provide better access to public land in an area sorely lacking in community parks. Did you know? North Buckhead has fewer parks, and less park space, per resident than any other area of the city. In fact, the Buckhead Collection identifies the demand for several new parks of varying size and function in Buckhead in addition to Mountain Way Common.

A small group of people have been working through the Adopt-a-Highway program of the Georgia Department of Transportation to remove trash and cut out invasive species like kudzu and privet from the area during periodic clean ups since 2009. Recently, the group learned Livable Buckhead will work to develop local parks and to provide assistance to community groups working to site parks. Additionally, Livable Buckhead has been designated as a Certified Land Trust to facilitate the development of future parks through donation of easements and lands in a manner that provides tax benefits to the donor.

By working with Livable Buckhead, Friends of Mountain Way Common will be able to offer tax-deductibility for donations made for Mountain Way Common.

MWC and the PATH400 Trail

Mountain Way Common is a separate project from the PATH400 Trail. The Trail, a community amenity that will provide local recreational and social opportunities including walkable and bikeable connections to local schools and the commercial business district as well as to the Atlanta Beltline, is in development under the leadership of the PATH Foundation.

Mountain Way Common will be one of several public greenspaces linked by the PATH400 Trail. For reasons of cost efficiency and effectiveness, the two projects are linked so that they will harmonize with each other. The goal is to have the design and construction of each one appropriately support the other in fulfillment of the vision that will be developed.